Six weeks after 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem, the ripple effect has reached USF. Sort of.
An East Carolina radio affiliate in Fayetteville, N.C., will not broadcast Saturday's ECU-USF football game after several Pirates band members took a knee or refused to perform the national anthem prior to last Saturday's home game against UCF.
Jeff Andrulonis, chairman/CEO of Colonial Media and Entertainment, called the protest a "shameful" disrespect of the anthem. A Pennsylvania-owned company, Colonial operates 100.1-FM in Fayetteville and the ESPN Fayetteville website.
"Several members of the band refused to play the national anthem and others ‘took a knee’ during the performance, with the result that roughly a dozen band members disgraced themselves on the football field this past weekend," Andrulonis said in a statement.